South Africa Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest South African cities.

Johannesburg is clearly 'the burg of a man named Johannes', however just which Johannes is a controversial question as there are several contenders including Christiaan Johannes Joubert, Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, Johannes Meyer, and Johannes Rissik. Perhaps Joubert, who had a park named after him, and Rissik, who had a street named after him, are the leading contenders.

Cape Town is of obvious derivation for it is a town on the capr of Africa. Of some interest is the origin of 'cape', initially used to refer to the cloak with a hood, which shares its origin with 'cap' and is ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word kaput which means 'head'.

Durban was named for Benjamin D'Urban (1777-1849), a British general and colonial administrator who served as governor of what was then known as Cape Colony. The Zulu name is eThekwini from itheku meaning 'bay' or perhaps 'lagoon'.

Pretoria was named for Andries Wilhelmus Jacobus Pretorius (1798-1853), leader of the Boers in their creation of the South African Republic.

Port Elizabeth was named for Elizabeth Frances (nee Markham), wife of Eufane Shaw Donkin, acting Governor of Cape Colony.

Vereeniging's name is derived from the Dutch meaning 'association' or perhaps 'union'.

Soshanguve is a modern name and an acronym of SOtho, SHAngaan, NGUni and VEnda. These combine to show the many ethnic groups integrating here.

East London was originally known as Port Rex, a reference to colonial days, but later renamed after the British capital. Click and scroll down to see what I've previously said about London and the origins of its name.

Bloemfontein is Dutch for 'fountain of flowers' or 'blooming fountain'.

Pietermaritzburg's name, like Johannesburg, is disputed. Some maintain it comes from a combination of Piet Retief, a former Voortrekker leader, and Gert Maritz, also a Voortrekker leader and wagon builder. Others point out it could also refer to the Piet alone, as his full name was Pieter Maurits Retief, and thus Piet Maurits Burg would also work.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Sierra Leone Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Sierra Leone's cities.

Freetown was named for the four hundred former slaves sent here from London in 1787.

Bo is a town said to be named for its generosity, and that is going to take a little explanation. When an elephant was killed near where the town is now found, many came from the surrounding area for their share. Hunters spent days cutting and carving and sharing out, doing so with the words bo-lor which, in the Mende tongue, means 'this is yours'. The term latterly also came to be translated as 'this is Bo'.

Waterloo was founded in 1819 as a settlement for liberated Africans and named after the recent battle in Belgium where Napoleon lost.

Port Loko gets its name from the Loko people, although this indigenous group refer to themselves as Landogo.

Kabala in both Limba and Fula languages meaning 'at Bala's place'.

Lunsar began as Ro-Sar which, in the local Temne language, means 'where stones are found'. This refers to the iron ore mining beginning in the colonnial era, this when the name became Lunsar.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Saint Lucia Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest St Lucian cities.

Anse La Raye is simply the French for 'Bay of Rays', the rays being the flat fish found here.

Bocage can be traced to the Old Norman boscage. itself a combination of Old French bosc and a later suffix -age and describes 'the place of the wood'.

Castries has been known as such since 1785, when it was renamed after the French Minister of the Navy and Colonies, the splendidly named Charles Eugene Gabriel de la Croix, marquis de Castries. (1727 - 1801).

Canaries is also known locally as Kanawe, this coming from the Amerindian to describe 'cooking pots'.

Choiseul had earlier been known as Anse Citron, literally 'lemon handle'. The present name has never been understood.

Gros Islet translates from the French as 'large island'.

Laborie is named after Baron de Laborie, French governor of Saint Lucia from 1784 to 1789. Earlier it had been known as L'islet a Caret, said to refer to the Loggerhead turtles in the area, itself known to science as Carretta caretta.

Micoud is another named after a former French governor of Saint Lucia, Baron de Micoud held the role in the 18th century.

Mon Repos is, as anyone with a mastery of schoolboy (or schoolgirl) French knows, a phrase meaning 'my rest' and thus simply describing someone's home.

Ravine Poissin, like the previous name, is easily translated as 'the valley of the fish'.

Rodney Bay is named from the British era, specifically after Admiral George Brydges Rodney, who built a fort at Pigeon Island.

Roseau is named for the local flora, for it simply means 'reeds'.

Soicis is another named during the era of French control and is an unusual name as it means 'troubles'. Just why this was chosen is unclear.

Vieux Fort is another of French origin, this simply translates as 'old fort'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Saint Kitts and Nevis Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest St Kitts and Nevis' cities.

Saint Thomas Lowland is a parish named after the dedication of the first church built here.

Gingerland is named after the most valuable crop grown here.

Charlestown took its name from Fort Charles, itself named to honour King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland (1630 to 1685).

Newcastle is clearly a transferred name and an early remnant of British colonialism.

Basseterre served as the capital of the French colony here, the name translating as 'low land' in English.

Dieppe Bay Town takes its name from the French place, also a coastal area named from the Dutch diep and related to the Old Scandinavian djupr and Old English deop all meaning 'deep' and all telling this is a deep water harbour.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.

Nigeria Place Names Explained

Having blogged samples of my books on English place names and also examined the etymologies of the nations of the world and their respective capitals I thought it time I cast my net a little wider. As English place names share some links to other tongues it would be interesting to see if any of the elements contributing to our place names could be found elsewhere. Continuing an alphabetical tour of the world and a look at the largest of Nigeria's cities.

Lagos is a name given to the place by the Portuguese, it means simply 'lakes'.

Kano was originally known as Dala, after Dalla Hill, and remained such until the end of the 15th century. Later it took its current name, itself borrowed from the name of the hereditary rulers named Kano.

Ibadan comes from the phrase eba odan, 'between the forest and the plains'.

Benin came from the Portuguese pronunciation of the original name of Ubinu, itself from Ile-Ibinu 'the land of vexation' as coined by Prince Oranmiyan, he frustrated in his attempts at governing this area.

Port Harcourt, built in 1912, was named to honour Lewis Vernon Harcourt, Secretary of State for the Colonies.

Jos is recorded as originally being known as Gwosh, a former village named for its position n the hills.

Enugu is derived from two Igbo words, where Enu Ugwu means 'hill top'.

Zaria was named after Queen Zaria.

Bauchi was named after a hunter called Baushe or encouraged Yaqub, of the Sokoto Empire, to build this city.

Sokoto is a modern version of the earlier Arabic name, itself from suk meaning 'market'.

Yola comes from the Fulfulde meaning 'great plain'.

Note the spellings of the places are English as the piece is written in English.